Greene County may pursue use tax

'We've got to do something,' county administrator says of budget woes

Aug. 2, 2013

Tim Smith

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What is this tax?

A use tax is a sort of extension of a sales tax. Right now, if you were to buy a loaf of bread from an Internet retailer, you are not paying the Greene County sales tax on that item. If officials were to ask for a use tax — and voters were to approve it — sales tax would then apply to certain Internet and catalog purchases as well as out-of-state vehicle purchases. There’s a caveat, though. Under current law, a local use tax can only apply to retailers with a physical location within the state. So, for instance, if you were to purchase online a T-shirt from J.C. Penney, you would pay a use tax, because there is at least one store in the state. But if you were to buy that same shirt from a retailer that doesn’t have a physical location in the state, then the use tax wouldn’t apply to that purchase.

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While county officials are considering a variety of financial plans, almost all of them involve one three-letter word:

T-a-x.

After weeks of discussion, lots of back and forth and a couple of ideas that went nowhere, county staffers have suggested that county commissioners pursue a “use tax.”

A use tax is, in essence, an extension of sales tax that covers certain out-of-state sales.

The idea, which has the potential to generate untold amounts of revenue annually, isn’t a formal proposal yet, and commissioners have yet to officially weigh in.

But the numbers presented during a Wednesday morning budget discussion are clear: The county has to find new revenue or face financial ruin.

Identifying the need

For the first time this year, all county employees have been encouraged to join workshops looking forward for the next four years to better anticipate opportunities and bills.

In the past, county budgets were merely a look at the upcoming year — not an overall picture of what is coming down the pike.

That picture is depressing, county leadership acknowledges.

“We’ve all got to be really sober about what we’re looking at here. We’re looking at a future that doesn’t work... We’ve got to do something,” County Administrator Tim Smith said.